


Backwards Minds

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-13 03:44:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nori is the helpful - or maybe not so helpful - martial arts master who lends a hand when a stranger gets mugged.<br/>Meeting that stranger again is not something he desires. At first.</p><p>Tags will be added, ratings will go up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bunfun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunfun/gifts), [Amaya2278](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaya2278/gifts).



> I'm gifting this to AphPandeimos and Amaya2278 both, even though they might not want it. I'm sorry! These two just inspire me lots, even though my writing isn't quite "back".
> 
> Also, apologizing ahead regarding how cheesy this whole fic will be, I can already feel it!

Nori was having a terrible day, the kind where his brother borrowed his headphones, leaving him without music in the gym, or on his way to the gym, or on his way back home; a day during which he’d dropped his phone in the toilet and ruined it completely; the day where he nearly got hit by a car and had a shouting match with a middle aged man who threatened to blow his head off.

All he planned to do once he was done venting at the gym was go home, sit his arse down on the couch and watch terribly violent movies. Now, had Ori returned the headphones in time, Nori would not have heard the voices in the alley, and he would have continued walking.

“Please, mate, I don’t have a lot of money, no credit card or nothin’,” a dark haired man pleaded in a low voice.

“You’re lyin’, give me your money or I’ll cut you up.” The mugger shifted closer, letting Nori catch a glimpse of a small pocketknife. “Don’t think I won’t do it!”

Sighing, the man reached into his pocket, and Nori sprung into action, dropping his bag and sprinting up to them, halting right behind the mugger and grinning at the man being mugged.

“Is this guy bothering you?” Before either of the two men could respond, Nori’s knuckles made contact with the mugger’s chin, having spun him around to punch him properly.

A quick twist with a firm grip of the muggers wrist resulted in a loud snap, and Nori’s knee in the man’s gut sent him to the ground, arm still stuck in Nori’s hand.

“Please, no more, I’m sorry!” the mugger whined, nearly sobbing.

“Oh, Jesus Christ, what are ye doing!?” the man who had been mugged shouted.

Nori glared at the man. “Excuse me? What am _I_ doing? He was mugging you!”

“Yes, yes, I’m grateful, but did ye have to break his wrist?” The man kneeled by the mugger. “Lad, are ye alright? Do you want to go to a hospital or somethin’?”

Letting go of the muggers arm, Nori took a step back. “Are you mentally challenged or something? He had a knife. I figured I should disarm him for you, considering you weren’t exactly about to do it yourself.”

The man sighed, kind eyes looking up at Nori. “I do appreciate it. Help me get him to the hospital, will ye?”

“Fine, not like I have anything better to do than take muggers to hospitals all night, ‘course,” Nori mumbled sarcastically, picking up his back and slinging it over his shoulder before helping the man hold up the mugger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry the chapters are so short, I'm sorry the chapters are so cheesy, I'm sorry I'm too sick to even know if it makes sense. Sorry!  
> A-at least the updates aren't too far apart?

Nori had not expected to see the dark-haired man again, and he certainly did not want to. He had gone home from the hospital that night in a terrible mood. What kind of person wants to help their mugger? He would have gladly smashed everything in his own apartment, but smashing his own things wouldn’t help and he knew it.

But Nori’s strong desire to not meet this man again didn’t seem to help him, as he received a light tap on his shoulder while walking from the gym on the following saturday.

“I remember ye, ye saved me from the mugger the other day,” the man said with a wide grin before sticking his hand out. “I’m Bofur, by the way.”

“Nori,” was the response the man got, as well as a very unimpressed expression, before Nori put his headphones back in and kept walking.

“No, no, please!” Bofur followed. “Let me repay ye, maybe dinner or...or a drink?”

Nori paused. “What, like buy me dinner? Free meal?”

“Yeah, sure!” Bofur said happily, nodding in excitement.

Agreeing, Nori followed Bofur to the end of the street, at which they both headed into a diner - nearly empty - Bofur’s excitement being obvious no matter how much he tried to hide it. Sitting down on a chair, Nori placed his bag on the one beside him, and Bofur sat down across from him. To Nori’s relief, the other man was silent for a good long while, but once their food arrived he spoke.

“I’ve never seen anyone...beat up a mugger like that. How’d ye learn how to do that?” Bofur asked, cocking his head as he took a bite of the chicken on his plate.

“Various martial arts. Won a few competitions, stopped when mum died.” Nori kept his eyes focused on the plate before him, brows knitted together as he tried his best to ignore the man before him.

“Competitions? Like, local or...big competitions?”

Taking two seconds to look up from his food, Nori glared at Bofur. “Huge fuckin’ competitions. Why do you even care?”

A shrug. “Sorry, just...trying to befriend ye?” Bofur offered him a cautious smile. “No harm in that, right?”

“Well you’re not doing it the right way,” Nori huffed.

Taking a moment to let Nori eat in peace, Bofur absent-mindedly twirled a few strands of his hair in one hand. "What _is_ the right way then?" he asked quietly.

"Sorry, what?"

"What's the right way to befriend ye?" Bofur grinned.

Nori sighed, frowning slightly. "No idea. Try any harder, and I’ll take it the wrong way. Try any less, and you might as well give up cause it won’t work."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a filler chapter, I didn't get as much writing done as I thought I would. Which is really lame. I dedicated my whole saturday to taking it easy and writing and I wrote like 20 sentences.

During the week that followed, Nori could feel an odd sensation creeping up on him, almost like guilt. Perhaps it had something to do with that poor fella who bought him dinner. Of course, that didn't mean he wanted to see Bofur again; apologizing was perhaps the last thing he felt like doing.

No, Nori would much rather spend his days at the gym, at his older brother’s house, at his own apartment. Working out, whining about his broken phone, watching movies. Ori lent him an old - very old - phone as replacement, but Nori grew bored with it quickly enough. He could not even play games on it. 

“Absolutely useless,” he muttered, pushing it off the living room table - the only thing the phone had going for it was how unbreakable it was.

Ori sighed, sitting down by his older brother, slouching down on the couch. “If you’re going to mistreat it, I don’t think you should have it.”

"Not like it'll break, but fine." 

Even though he considered having someone run it over with their car - purely in spite - Nori grew silent, and the younger brother turned the TV on. As the minutes passed, Nori became restless, squirming a bit on the couch by the time his older brother rested one hand on each of his shoulders.

"Nori, why don't you and Ori go out?” Dori suggested, although Nori could tell it was more of an order, having known Dori since the day Nori himself was born.  
“What, why?” Nori mumbled.

Dori’s back straightened significantly, and Nori couldn’t help but notice his older brother avoided eye contact. “I’m, er, having a visitor.”

“Balin? Fine, we’ll go out,” he said and turned to Ori, “bar?”

“Yes!” Ori replied excitedly, nearly jumping off the couch.

Without question, the middle brother of the family took his sweatshirt and his younger brother and left the other one alone in the house. Nori would later regret letting Ori choose which particular bar they should go to, when he - Ori following close behind - made his way to the bartender to buy a beer. 

“Oh, fuck me, not you again...” he grumbled as he saw the grinning dark-haired man who asked what Nori would like to drink.

“Beer then?” Bofur turned to Ori, his grin slowly widening. “Beer for you too?”

Ori nodded, and when the bartender returned with the requested beer bottles, he directed a discrete wink toward Nori. “On the house.”


End file.
